Key Contributors

We’ve got a big game this Saturday. Huge. We host the Arkansas Razorbacks at Sanford Stadium and we need to win this one in a bad way. The season isn’t over if we lose but it sure makes getting to Atlanta in December a whole lot tougher. Needless to say, I’m mostly a nervous wreck this week. I say mostly because it’s only Wednesday. But, you know what? It’s Wednesday! And you know what that means: it’s Seniors Night here at the blog! So place your order for a round of Sloe Gin Fizzes, turn on some…er, I really have no idea what you guys like to dance to…Paul Anka? Engelbert Humperdinck? Whatever. It’s time to get crunk:

Tripping the Light Fantastic.

OK. I haven’t lost it. Not yet (remember, it’s only Wednesday). The purpose of this post is take a look at some of the players on our roster who are going to have to step up if we’re going to win the game on Saturday. Oh, and it just so happens that they’re all seniors at UGA.

On offense:

Kris Durham, Wide Receiver – With the NCAA dragging it’s feet on the A.J. Green appeal, Kris is going to be the number one receiver. He’s had two great games so far this season and will have to continue finding ways to make quarterback Aaron Murray’s life easier. Pro tip: get open, catch the ball when it’s thrown your way and score touchdowns.

Fred Munzenmaier, Full Back – Shaun Chapas (also a senior) is our number one Full Back but he sprained his ankle in the loss against the Gamecocks last week. It’s unlikely that he’ll see much, if any playing time so the back up, Munzenmaier, will have to fill in. I say back up, but that’s not really true. Munzenmaier has seen plenty of action himself so I don’t expect too much of a drop off here.

Clint Boling, Chris Davis, Josh Davis, Offensive Linemen – The Big Uglies. These are the most important guys on the offensive unit. Highly touted during the off season, they have, for the most part, not played as well in run-blocking as we have all expected them to. Part of the problem have been injuries that have kept them from all practicing together during the last couple of weeks of fall camp. But especially in this game against Arkansas, we need for our ground game to be dominant. And that starts with these guys.

We’ve got plenty of offensive weapons at Aaron Murray’s disposal. And the word is that Mark Richt is going to open up the playbook a bit and let Murray do his thing. So, seniors of the offensive unit, you hear that? Don’t you guys want to see Murray do his thing? I sure do. Make it happen.

Vance Cuff, Corner Back – Vance has made huge strides since last season and he’s going to be tested early and often on Saturday. I hope Vance gets a good night’s sleep on Friday because I foresee him running up and down the field a lot, covering Razorback receivers (quite the prophecy, eh? Hey, this is a free blog, quit complaining).

Darryl Gamble, Justin Houston, Akeem Dent, Akeem Hebron, Linebackers – Yes, I know. Justin Houston is actually a junior. But he’s damn good. We had 5 sacks last Saturday and he got 3 of them and also caused a fumble. I think it’s likely he will forego his senior season and leave early for the draft so I’m including him in this list. At any rate, all of these guys need to make sure Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallet fears for his life on Saturday. Even when he’s getting back on the team bus for that long ride back to Fayettenam.

If we can keep this to a low-scoring game, I really like our chances. At the very least, this will mean that we’ve slowed Mallet and Company down which means that we will have frustrated Arkansas’ high-powered offense. That’s got to be good, right? That said, last season, Mallet threw 5 touchdowns against us and the Razorbacks still lost. I’d like to think that Aaron Murray is a better quarterback than Joe Cox, last year’s Dawgs starter, who also threw for 5 touchdowns in the win. I’d like to think that because it’s completely true. But, you see, I’m not completely sure yet. Wait. Yes I am. I watched Joe Cox overthrow a wide open A.J. Green running a deep post route in the game against LSU last year that would have resulted in an 80-yard touchdown. It takes a special kind of talent to overthrow A.J. Green (special being the nicest way of putting it)

Thinking about this game is going to make my head explode. I need a drink. Salty Dog, anyone?